Natural waxes and oils fall into two distinct classes, based upon their chemistry. The first class is made up on the triglycerides and are generally referred to as oils. They are tri-esters of glycerin, hence the name triglycerides. The structure of the triglyceride is: ##STR1##
Naturally occurring triglycerides are natural products derived from plant species and have a species specific carbon distribution in the "R" portion. For example Soybean oil has a naturally occurring "R" 29% oleic C.sub.17 H.sub.33 (oleic), and 54% linoleic C.sub.17 H.sub.31 (linoleic). Soybean oil is a low viscosity oil that is not good for dispersing pigments.
In contrast castor oil, is a high viscosity oil that is a good pigment dispersant. In many applications the viscosity is prohibitively high. Castor oil as produced by the plant has a far different distribution. Castor oil is 89% by weight a hydroxy-acid having the formula C.sub.17 H.sub.34 -O referred to as ricinoleic.
The process of the current invention will allow for the synthesis of a reconstituted oil having a "mixed" carbon distribution and very desirable properties that can be customized for particular applications.
Another example of where reconstitution improves properties is mitigation of drying properties in so called drying oils. These oils have a high iodine value, generally over 175. These oils homo-polymerize to make films and generate heat. The heat is not properly dissipated can cause spontaneous combustion. By reacting a high iodine value oil with a lower iodine value oil we can lower the heat generated and the hardness of the film that forms.
It must be understood that these are not blends of oils. For example, if one blends castor oil and jojoba oil, the resultant mixture is s cloudy mass, that rapidly separates on standing. The process of the present invention makes the compounds react and remain clear and homogeneous. Not only that, the range of castor to Jojoba can be altered widely to change functional properties. Beeswax separates from soybean oil, but when reacted according to the process of our invention, remains clear and results in an altered melting point and hardness of the resulting wax. The process allows for very wide variation and preparation of materials heretofore unattainable.
The term "wax" refers to a series of esters. Unlike triglycerides that are tri-esters of glycerin, these products are monoesters having alkyl distributions on both sides of the ester. A typical ester is beeswax. Beeswax conforms to the following structure: EQU R'--O--C(O)--R"
Botanists attempt to alter the distribution of the "R" group using genetic engineering and plant selection processes for both waxes and esters. This is a difficult, expensive and time-consuming process that allows for only marginal modification of the "R" group in natural oils. We have discovered that by using a process called "Reconstitution of the waxes or oils" we are able to prepare compounds that can be made to vary far more radically in "R` composition and consequently have new unique and controllable properties, heretofore unattainable using genetic manipulation and plant selection. The present invention to provides a series of products that are produced by this process for use in applications where the altered properties can be used. For example the modification of the melting point of beeswax by reconstituting it with soybean oil results in an ability to custom tailor melting points of the resulting wax for use in lipsticks, where the ability to have a melting point near body temperature is important. Another example of an application is pigment processing. Castor oil is commonly used as a solvent for milling pigment. The high viscosity of castor oil can be a problem however. By reconstituting castor oil and coconut oil the viscosity can be made to a desired value and the pigment dispersing ability and viscosity specifically controlled. Attempts to control these properties by genetic engineering have not been successful. We can simply make more and different variations of reconstituted products than can be bio-engineered.